OPINION - Election Countdown: Close to Home

posted by Gordon Clanton | 454sc
October 17, 2018

BY GORDON CLANTON

So many races, so little time. Mail ballots have arrived. But don’t vote too soon.

Del Mar City Council. Del Mar has four candidates for two seats on its five-member council. Incumbent and current mayor, Dwight Worden, is likely to be re-elected. The other candidates are investment advisor Brian Fletcher, UCSD scientist Terry Gaasterland, and financial advisor Dan Quirk.

Apart from Mayor Worden, the others seem to be more narrowly focused on pet issues and personalities – not the best qualifications for a job that is demanding, multi-faceted, complex, and consequential.

As things stand, I urge Del Martians to vote only for Dwight – although Dwight (boy scout that he is) has not called for his supporters to vote only for him.

Make it a point to hear meet, and question all four candidates. This is the Del Mar Way.

Del Mar schools. Incumbents Doug Rafner and Scott Wooden have

endorsed attorney, Gee Wah Mok, thus forming a slate. I support this slate.

San Dieguito schools. For the first time, the composition of the high school board will be determined by district elections. You will vote for only one candidate and only once every four years. So you will need to determine your area and who the candidates are. This year Areas 1, 3, and 5 will hold elections.

The candidates for Area 5 (toward the south end of the school district)

include Kristin Gibson, now ending her service on the Del Mar board, and Cheryl James Ward, whose campaign is financed by the for-profit charter school industry. In June, James Ward lost her well-funded campaign for the county school board to Rick Shea. Vote for Kristin – and for Amy Flicker in Area 1 and Rhea Stewart in Area 3.

Wait. Hold your mail ballot until Election Day so you can take account of any last-minute revelations or scandals. I like to walk my mail ballot to my neighborhood polling place on Election Day. I love the smell of ballots in the morning.

Gordon Clanton teaches Sociology at San Diego State University and writes a column on politics and the environment for the Del Mar Times and four other suburban weeklies. He is Program Chair at the Rancho Santa Fe Democratic Club. Gordon welcomes feedback at gclanton@sdsu.edu